“Neither we nor they have any idea whether their driving meets the required standard,” Gooding said.

“Our strong road safety record is built on three pillars - roadworthy vehicles, responsibly driven by properly qualified drivers. This sort of behaviour is flagrantly kicking one of those pillars away,” he added.

Around 1.9 million theory tests and 1.5 million practical tests are taken each year in the UK.

Over the last five years, more than 1,100 licences have been revoked due to evidence that they were obtained fraudulently.

A further 111 people were convicted of taking the practical or theory tests on behalf of others.

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Since 2009, more than 200 people have been convicted of hiring an impersonator to take their driving test

In September 2016 a man was given a two-year prison sentence at Croydon Crown Court after taking a series of car, motorcycle and lorry theory tests on behalf of other people.

According to Jones, the majority of investigations into impersonation are conducted by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) until there is enough evidence to support an arrest and prosecution.

Andy Rice, head of counter-fraud and investigations at the DVSA, said: “The driving test is there to ensure that all drivers have the skills and knowledge to use the roads safely and responsibly.

“Anyone who tries to circumvent this process is putting innocent road users at risk.

“Driving test fraud is a serious offence and is dealt with accordingly. We have stringent measures in place to detect fraudulent activity and work closely with the police to bring all offenders to justice.